Former Lincoln City midfielder James Jones is one of six players who haven’t been offered a new contract at Burton Albion.
Five years after helping the Imps reach the League One play-off final, Jones will be looking for another club after departing the Brewers, 18 months after joining.
Since leaving Sincil Bank, injuries have hindered the Scots’ career, none more so than in the 25/26 campaign.
The 30-year-old missed the whole season, managing just four appearances in East Staffordshire in what has been a desperately disappointing period.
Unfortunately, no Imps fan ever had the privilege of watching Jones play in the flesh. His one and only campaign in Lincolnshire was the lockdown 20/21 season, despite signing a three-year deal in June 2020. Joining from Crewe Alexandra, he had built a reputation as a strong player in League Two, particularly during the 16/17 campaign. That only increased during his final two years in Cheshire, turning down a new deal in favour of joining City.
He was the first summer signing ahead of the strangest campaign Lincoln have ever played. Progressing through Alexandra’s academy, Jones netted against the Imps on Boxing Day in 2018, opting for a change of scenery for the first time in his career. The former Scottish youth international introduced himself to Lincoln supporters watching from home with a fine showing on his league debut against Oxford United.
After being denied an audacious opener by the U’s goalkeeper, he turned provider for Adam Jackson to head home from a set-piece. Following such an assured performance, Jones started every League One fixture until January 2021, scoring in an important victory over Rochdale a month earlier. However, in the second half of the campaign, his gametime became increasingly limited, missing out on the play-offs altogether.
Where Has Jones Been Since Leaving Lincoln?
Nevertheless, Lincoln supporters will have been looking forward to seeing him in action in the flesh the following campaign. Over the border, 130 miles away, Wrexham, under the ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, had other ideas. Jones made the decision to drop two divisions into the National League. Unsurprisingly, he flourished at a level that Jones was far too good to play at, winning promotion in his second season.
While he continued his strong showings in North Wales in the EFL, the first of his injury nightmares was around the corner. A hamstring injury sustained in February 2024 curtailed his involvement in the promotion run-in, though the Red Dragons got the job done in his absence.
Promotion to League One would be to the detriment of some of the players who got Wrexham to that level. But that wasn’t expected to be the case with Jones, who had experience at that level with the Imps, albeit three years earlier. Unfortunately, his injury issues resurfaced last season, limiting the midfielder to just 26 minutes of third-tier football at The Racecourse. After departing for Burton, he barely bettered that figure in the second half of the season. With such limited football in the past two years, it would require a team to take a big gamble on him next year.
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